Axle-bearing.



1. u. CITE'.

AxLE BgAmNG.

APPLICATIOQ FILED OCT. 12. ISIN?. y

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

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Alsina-BEARING.

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Appueatioaied october 12,1917. serial Naisegaai.

To all whom t may'concern: v p

Be it knownthat I, J osnrH D. Cirri, aciti- Zen of the United -States,residing at Dayton, in thecounty of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Axle-Bearings, of which they following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in bearings for the axles of trucks or cars. More particularlythe bearings 'are designed Afor use in connection with ears used for'transporti'n'g brick inbrick-making plants. VIn `such places vthe-.car tracks are more or less imperfectin their laying,there being more or less variation in the elevation of the rails and, therefore, it is desirable that the bearings for theV axles of such cars'shallV be free to compensate or vary in accordance with the "amount ofdeflectionv that is imparted to the axles of the car due to such unevenness or'lack' of .uniformity -in Y track' elevation and'plane. The present invention has for its objectt'o provide an axle bearingfo'r cars of thisv ch'aracter'which has both a maximum of anti-friction and a fa'-` cility for' oscillating in planesV both parallel and transvers'evand Ain ifact any plane between planes that are parallel and transversetd the linefo'f thea'xle- 'off'tle'V car.y Tn' other words, the axle bearing is of theba'll and socket or universal bearing type with an elimination of a certain amount of the contacting surface between the two members whereby friction at some points is avoided, and the parts of the bearing may be easily disassembled and put together. The invention consists of the parts and their combination and construction as will herein* after appear from the description and the claims to follow and in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the description to follow and upon which like reference characters indicate similar parts asthey are illustrated in the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a car truck having my improved axle bearing in position thereon. Fig. 2 is `an inner side elevation of the bearing intact, detached from the truck or car. frame. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of one of the bearings intact with the axle broken away to facilitate space. Fig.. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is Aafsfeetional viewon the lineG- Vof Fig. 2. Fig. 7` is fanend'view of-theball y or innerbearingmember. l,

is` h ereinbefore j stated, the .inventionV `is designed to afford the ,igreatestflrange of oscillation of the bearing aroundthe end of f the shaft ory axle which is reeeiv'ed'therein. This is important for ithe reasons fhereinsl before stated; ldue to :the rv'-imperfeet aline-l ment of the rails formingfthe 'track'over which the caris moved-andwhich arevusually light. YThese cars, as-before intimated, aroused for transportingfclay productsin their making, such asbricksytil'e, ete., for example in.l transporting the *product inthe green state tothe 'kilns for dryingfthe'vs'ame.

Having these'y ends -in vview the particular description of thebearin'gis asfollows: l

designates a bracket Vwhich is--jrigidly-fatvtached to the-truck or'fcar frame 2. This bracket' is strengthened `or reinforced -1 by I a longitudinal rib 3 whichfiis a well known expedient in'the moldersart.. Th`eflower portion thereof terminates inraf shell or housing ywhich constitutes --the outer member of the bearing.A ThisshellV or housing ifis'of spherical form kwhich f Spherical form eX- tends from the upper portion thereof into Vfthe sides thereof. Theltopflardfsides 'lforlm `VVfarounded interior contacting surface which incloses the ball or inner member 5 of the bearing. The lower portion of the shell or housing 4 is omitted or removed so that the bottom thereof is open as at 6, therefore, no friction or resistance is offered to the ball member 5 in the lower portion of the housing. As shown in Fig. 4i the ball member 5 of the bearing is exposed through the open bottom of the shell, the upper portion thereof being in contact with the upper rounded portion of the said housing, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.y The ball member of the bearing may be easily removed through the opening in the bottom of the shell or housing and replaced when it is desired to clean the bearing, and kowing to the removal of the entire lower portion of the housing, the ball is free to oscillate with a considerable less amount of friction than is the case with the usual ball and socket bearing. It will be apparent that the ball member 5 is free to oscillate in any plane parallel to thel line of the axle 7; both in perpendicular and transverse planes as well as any plane between these two planes of oscillation. rfherefore, it follows that a maximum of compensation is provided in the bearing for all inequalities or irregularities of the track. The axle 7 has a direct bearing in a series of roller bearings 8 which are assembled on the interior of the ball member of the bearing and these, together with the elimination of the lower portion of the housing 4, provide a minimum of frictional resistance at all degrees of oscillation which the axle may demand in passing over the car track. The opening 9 in the housing through which the axle projects in finding its bearing is amply large to enable the greatest amount of oscillation of the ball 5. The removal of the lower portion of the housing 4 or outer member of the bearing not only eliminates a substantial amount of friction between the two members but at the same time it does not detract any from the universal movement peculiar to a ball and socket bearing. The open bottom of the housing 4 also provides ample means for preventing the bearing from clogging up with dirt and the efliciency thereof becoming retarded to a greater or less extent thereby, and as before statedv the inner member of the bearing may be easily removed through the bottom of the housing. The car tracks in brick kilns are usually not laid by expert trackmen. The conditions `are such that it would be impossible to lay such track perfectly owing to the lack of a proper road bed and other causes well known to the brick-making art. Therefore, not only is there found inequalities in the track due to higher and lower elevation of Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. C.

parts, but often side deiiections are present in these tracks and itis these various irregularities that render necessary a bearing of the character described and shown, and which provides for any oscillation of the bearing that may be demanded by the axle, thus preventing damaging stress or strain upon thev axle or bearing, and insuring an easy running of the car.

Having described my invention, I cla-im:

l. The combination with a car axle, of a bearing therefor consisting of a housing the interior top and side walls thereof being of a substantially spherical form and the bottom portion thereof being open, and an inner bearing member of spherical form within said housing, the lower side of said inner bearing member being uninclosed at the bottom of the housing, whereby it is subject to a universal movement within the .housing with a substantial curtailment of frictional engagement with said housing.

2. The combination with a car axle, of

aV bearing therefor consisting of an outer housing or socket member the interior top and side walls thereof being of a continuous spherical form and the bottom thereof'V being open throughout its width, a ball con?.

stituting an inner bearing member within Y said housing and adapted to have a universal range of movement therein, the lower side of said ball or inner member being exposed through the opening in the housing and said inner member having a series of roller bearings arranged therein which receive the car axle.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOSEPH D. GIT.

"Commissioner of Patents, 

